


Live a Little

by AgentExile



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (Kind Of...), Busker Ten, Christmas Eve, DJ Johnny, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-19 11:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17001150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentExile/pseuds/AgentExile
Summary: When all of the flights out of Incheon Airport are grounded because of the weather on Christmas Eve, Johnny Seo looks ahead at a Christmas alone in Seoul, ten thousand kilometres from home.Sleeping on plastic seats, praying for a miracle, he waits.Eccentric street-performer Ten, who wakes him up with a coffee and a doughnut, is not the miracle he’s expecting.





	1. Chapter 1

   ‘You – you can’t be serious?’ Johnny stammered. His eyes flitted over the shoulder of the harried lady in front of him, searching for anything on the board that wasn’t glowing red. ‘It’s _Christmas_.’

   ‘I’m sorry, Mr Seo,’ she said with a pained expression.

   He knew that he shouldn’t argue, that this poor woman at the customer service desk would be dealing all shift with the tirades of hundreds of other tired, cold, irate people who’d just been told they wouldn’t be able to get home for the holidays. ‘But - ’ he started, unable to help himself.

   ‘It snowed all night, Mr Seo, and the fog is too thick. Visibility is less than four-hundred metres. It’s just too dangerous for outbound flights. I’m very sorry.’

   He let his hands fall from the counter as his shoulders slumped.

   Christmas Eve.

   He was going to be alone on Christmas.

   It had been five months since he’d last set foot in the home he’d grown up in, since he’d last hugged his mom and sat down for a dinner with his family. And now, no matter how earnestly he’d promised them that he’d make it back, he was going to have to call them and tell them that they’d be spending the holidays without their only son.

   ‘ _Fuck_ ,’ he groaned, as he was finally shunted from the desk by two _furious_ looking businessmen in the queue behind him.

   He allowed himself to be buffeted to the side, feeling completely hollow.

   It was already hours and hours since he’d first arrived at the airport. He’d known that the weather would be a problem, that Seoul was expecting its highest snowfall in years and that there was a risk of delay, so he’d left home extremely early in the morning, in case his transport to the airport got held up. Then, already so many hours early, he’d watched as his flight to Chicago at last appeared on the board, crawling its way up, then turning amber.

   _Delayed._

When that had appeared, he’d held out hope. Even as every flight surrounding it had turned amber too, he’d waited. The hours dragged.

   _Contact service desk._

He’d joined the first queue, starting to panic. They hadn’t known anything, more stressed than the flyers.

   Back to his seat, which had been taken by another businessman. Apparently, they were the only other people who would leave it so late to fly home. So he’d had to pace, instead.

   Then, finally, in vivid red:

   _Cancelled._

Back to the desk. Pleas wasted, and he was pushed aside.

   Perhaps it was an overreaction, but Johnny felt like the world had been pulled out from under him. He’d been looking forward to this for so long.

   And it was his fault. He shouldn’t have left it so late.

   Johnny Seo wasn’t a businessman, but he _had_ been kept in Seoul until the very last minute, even though his family lived ten thousand kilometres away in the States. He was a radio DJ, a pretty _popular_ one at that, a job that he’d sort of fallen into after travelling to Korea for college, and which had kept him there for years. He liked it. He liked the notoriety, the subtle kind of fame that came from everyone knowing his voice but nobody knowing his face. He had a huge online following who would always have his back, but nobody would recognise him in the street. Anonymity, even when so many people knew his name.

   With the crowds now swarming around the help desks, Johnny was able to have his pick of the rows and rows of cold, plastic seats.

   He was exhausted.

   Physically.

   Mentally.

   Fresh air – he needed some fresh air.

   Johnny stood back up and slung his bag over his shoulder. It was hard work just to push through the swathes of people, none of whom were feeling at their most courteous, to get to the sliding doors of the terminal and slip outside.

   The air was biting, and heavy with fog, even as Johnny pushed his way along the taxi rank and out into the uncovered area of the sidewalk.

   He breathed in three lungsful of icy air, even though it bit at his chest and _hurt_ more than anything, but he needed to think. He needed to plan. He needed call his parents, beg the airport staff one more time, book a cab back to the city so that he could hole up in his apartment and get ready to spend the most special day of the year in the company of his TV and whatever scraps he could fish out from his kitchen cupboards.

   Someone nearby was shouting, probably down the phone.

   From somewhere else, through the thick haze that hovered in the air, he heard _music_.

   Automatically, as if drawn by the instincts that came from working with music every single day, he turned towards it, walking through the fog. A couple of people bumped shoulders with him, but it wasn’t much of a problem – Johnny was a head above most people and well-built enough that he was barely shoved aside.

   The music was louder, almost _stronger_ through the mist when he found its source, but still clouded, muffled. It gave the scene a strange aura, as though he were listening in on a circus through the folds of a heavy canvas tent. But the music _itself_ was recognisable, a heavy beat, strong bass, something that Johnny played on the radio every other day.

   There was a man, dancing.

   His way of moving was fascinating, a sort of amalgamation of different styles, but Johnny didn’t know enough about dance to identify them. What he _did_ know, was that this guy was good.

   ‘Watch it!’ someone snapped, when they walked squarely into Johnny’s side.

   ‘Sorry,’ he said automatically, but then he turned after the guy to withdraw his apology because he was trying harder and harder not to apologise for things that weren’t his fault these days. The stranger, though, had already vanished. Instead, he turned back to the _other_ stranger, the more interesting one, and stared.

   Few other people had stopped to watch him, too busy with the chaos going on inside the airport, but there was a lady with two children a couple of feet away, both of whom were pointing excitedly at the dancer.

   Johnny wasn’t sure if his interest showed transparently on his face. His lips certainly parted slightly, his eyes narrowing to concentrate through the heavy air. The man was small, but significant in presence, with black hair that was slightly damp from the thick fog, giving it a rough sort of texture where it fell into his eyes, splitting into sharp separate strands.

   The man’s body moved in one fluid wave, before popping at such a harsh beat that Johnny almost _jumped_. He was so fixated, so absorbed, that it was as though he were living each movement with him.

   He was wrenched back to reality when his phone rang, high-pitched and persistent.

   He stepped away quickly, not wanting to be rude, almost tripping over two people, before he took his phone out and checked the ID.

   It was his mom.

   He took a very deep breath, and then took the call. Every step back to the shelter of the airport felt like a mile.

*

   If the hard plastic seats had been uncomfortable while Johnny was sitting and waiting, it was nothing compared to the discomfort of falling asleep on them.

   He’d trekked back to a row, resolutely, determined not to leave the airport until every single flight had been cancelled. He would wait. He would wait for a miracle, for the weather to clear. What else was he going to do? Go back to his empty flat?

   He’d left his apartment so early in the morning that he’d barely scraped a couple of hours of sleep the night before, and it was starting to catch up with him. He drifted in and out of sleep, never quite dropping off, because every announcement made him sit up again.

   But it was never good news.

   He must have slept for ten minutes straight at last, just starting to move beyond the half-wakefulness-stage, when he jerked awake at a sound very close to his ear.

   ‘Rise and shine, darling!’

   Johnny opened one eye at lightning speed, but the other seemed to lag behind. His head was throbbing from the combination of stress and the disruption of his sleep cycle. He felt sick, not having eaten for hours, and, for a moment, was totally confused.

   He sat bolt-upright when he met the gaze of a familiar-unfamiliar face.

   ‘They’re kicking everyone out. Here, I bought you breakfast, or dinner, technically.’

   It was the boy from outside.

   ‘I – what - ’ Johnny looked at him blearily.

   ‘They’re closing the airport because of the weather. We gotta go.’

   ‘ _We_? Who’s _we_?’

   ‘I’m Ten. You’re… you. Let’s go.’

   Johnny stared at him, at _Ten_ , in complete astonishment.

   Up close, Ten looked different to the way that he had when he was dancing. He looked… more playful, less serious. When he had danced, he had been utterly immersed, focussed, _intense_ to the extent that Johnny had not been able to tear his eyes from him. Now, though, there was a charming glint to his eyes.

   Those eyes… Johnny had to switch to flitting his gaze over the rest of him, because otherwise he’d look like he was staring too much. His eyes were very perfectly architected, as if drawn by an artist with especially concentrated precision. His nose was cute, slightly turned up, and his cheekbones prominent. Everything about him was _prominent_ , statement, noticeable features – his ears were scattered with silver piercings, even his clothes were interesting.

   His jeans were torn, and he had a leather jacket over his shoulders. It seemed insufficient for the weather, but the way that he’d danced made Johnny fairly sure that he’d never stay cold for long.

   ‘Are you going to stare all day, or…?’

   Johnny wondered if his cheeks turned red. He wasn’t a teenager, he shouldn’t get shy just because a good-looking guy was talking to him.

   _Good-looking._

   Yeah, that was _Ten_ alright.

   ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘just… I’ve had a really long day.’

   ‘Don’t worry, I know I’m completely mesmerising,’ Ten shrugged with a small, cocky smile. ‘Come on, unless you wanna sleep in a closed airport over Christmas.’

   Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, perhaps the handsome face, perhaps the magnetic aura, but Johnny found himself following his words, standing up with a loud crick in his knees from being hunched up for too long.

   ‘Who… _are_ you?’ Johnny asked as he picked up his bag.

   ‘Ten, remember? And you?’

   Johnny stood still and just _looked_ at him, wondering what the hell was making him follow a stranger out into the snow.

   The way he’d danced.

   That was the answer.

   He couldn’t shift the charge in his veins that he’d felt the second he saw him dance. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever seen a person move like that.

   ‘Johnny. Johnny Seo.’

   For a second, he wondered whether Ten would recognise his name. People usually did. He did prime-time on one of the nation’s most popular radio stations. But Ten just tuned on his heel, talking over his shoulder. ‘Well hey there, Johnny Seo. I guess your plane got cancelled? That blows.’

   Johnny opened the small packet that Ten had handed him, opening it to find a partially squashed doughnut. ‘Yeah. Yes. I…’ Johnny swallowed. ‘I was meant to be going home for the holidays but I… I left it too late. I’m an idiot. And… fuck…’ he kneaded his forehead, ‘my family are… they’re so upset. I can’t _believe_ I’ve ruined the holidays.’

   Ten turned and raised his eyebrows. ‘It’s just a _day_ , Johnny. Go next week. The week after. If your family love you, they aren’t going to mind when you see them. Celebrate a week later.’

   ‘I don’t know, they’re pretty traditional…’ Johnny took a long drink of the coffee Ten had given him, too, and then pulled a face. ‘God that’s disgusting.’

   ‘Airport coffee. What were you expecting?’

   Johnny just laughed and looked down at the floor. ‘I should call a cab.’

   ‘A cab? Don’t be ridiculous, you’re coming with me!’

   Their eyes met again. Johnny’s forehead was knotted with a combination of stress and confusion but Ten’s face was so open, so charming, that he almost smiled. ‘What?’

   ‘Well what else are you going to do? Go back to the city and lock yourself away to mope all Christmas? I’m guessing you don’t have someone waiting for you back at your apartment?’

   ‘What gave me away?’

   ‘The way you stared at me in the street,’ Ten shrugged. Johnny shifted awkwardly.

   ‘I just liked the way you danced,’ he said.

   ‘Good, I like the way I dance too. Although you should know that it’s customary to leave a tip when you watch a performer.’

   ‘I’m sorry, my – my phone rang.’

   ‘So now you owe me one! Come to mine. _Please please please_.’

   Johnny just stood there, flabbergasted. ‘I don’t – I don’t _know_ you.’

   ‘So? I promise you, hand on heart, that you’ll have more fun with me than you would on your own.’ Ten _put_ his hand on his heart, for good measure.

   ‘How do I know you’re not a serial killer or something?’

   Ten narrowed his eyes. ‘Well you don’t. But I _did_ buy you a doughnut.’

   Johnny looked down at the half-eaten ring. It was true. And it was a good doughnut, far better than the coffee. Worth dying for? Johnny sighed. ‘I guess you did.’

   ‘Live a little, Johnny Seo,’ said Ten with a smile that was somewhat gentler than his previous more mischievous ones. ‘When was the last time you did something crazy?’

   The question hit slightly too close to home.

   When _was_ the last time he’d done something that made him nervous? Even his friends told him that he was all-work-no-play. It wasn’t his fault – his job started early in the day, _really_ early, to catch the morning commuters. Drive time. He was usually tired after. And he didn’t have too many days off, and when he did, he preferred to stay in rather than go out.

   _Safe_.

   His life was _safe_.

   The last time he’d taken a risk, done something _out there_ , was probably at college.

   Maybe that was why he’d been feeling like he was stuck in a rut for _months_.

   ‘It’ll be fun,’ Ten coaxed, ‘you _know_ you wind up regretting the things you _don’t_ do, right? It might be the best Christmas of your life.’

   Johnny thought about his life, he thought about the rut, he thought about the grounding of his plane and the fact that his mom had always told him that _things happen for a reason_.

   Maybe he was _supposed_ to meet Ten.

   Maybe he was _supposed_ to spend Christmas with this fascinating stranger.

   And the alternative was a cab home and a night alone.

   Whatever happened with Ten, he knew that it wouldn’t be worse than that. He could just tell. He just had a feeling that Ten was the miracle he’d been waiting for – he radiated positive energy.

   ‘Okay,’ he exhaled. ‘Okay, you know what? Sure. I’ll come with you.’

   Ten beamed. ‘I knew you had it in you. Let’s go.’

   He took Johnny’s hand, making Johnny jump in surprise, and tugged him along with him. It felt strangely… nice.

   He knew that Ten was a stranger, and that he had no idea where he was taking him, but it had been a while since he’d held hands with someone, since someone had pulled him somewhere with the promise of something _exciting_.

   Ten’s hand was smaller than his, but his grip was very tight, filled with purpose.

   ‘So what do you do for a living, Johnny Seo?’

   ‘I’m… I’m on the radio.’

   ‘Oh _really_?’ Ten said with interest. ‘I don’t listen to the radio.’

   Johnny laughed softly. ‘You’re not missing much.’

   ‘Well clearly I’ve been missing _you_ , for one thing! Do you like it? Being on the radio?’

   ‘Yeah, it’s alright,’ he shrugged. It didn’t escape his notice that Ten adjusted their hands as they walked, interlinking their fingers. ‘The pay is good and I like music.’

   ‘You don’t sound _that_ enthused.’

   ‘I don’t think it’s the job that’s the problem. I think it’s me,’ Johnny sighed, and then he shook his head in disbelief, wondering why he’d just shared something like that with a complete stranger. Something about Ten’s face made him want to share his entire life story with him. ‘But what about you? You’re… a busker, or…?’

   ‘On and off. Sometimes I work some odd jobs. I like busking, though. I like seeing other people smile because they’re watching me. If someone’s having a stressful day, you can turn it around, just by doing what you do. You should have seen your _self_ , earlier.’

   Johnny nodded. ‘You definitely distracted me. But why the airport?’

   ‘Oh the airport is prime real estate. We live in a cashless society now, everyone just carries their credit cards, but if you hang out by the airport, everyone’s just exchanged their holiday money, got some cash. I’ve been given _yen_ , _dollars_ , _euros_ , _rubles_ … _won_ , of course. You never know what you’re going to get. And at the holidays, people are feeling generous. It’s the Christmas spirit.’

   ‘It’s cold, though,’ said Johnny, suddenly worried about Ten being outside all the time.

   ‘You don’t notice once you’re dancing,’ he winked. ‘Come on, down here.’

   Ten was leading him down to a train station, with apparently perfect timing because as soon as they stepped onto the platform, the sleek silver shuttle trundled to a stop, and Ten pulled him into one of the carriages.

   It was quiet, maybe because word had got out about the weather. Ten leant back against one of the poles, too short to comfortably hold the overhead rails, but he didn’t sit down. Johnny held himself steady reaching up, instead, but whenever they turned a corner, he found himself leaning over Ten, enough in his personal space that Ten bit his lip in a knowing smile.

   ‘So, aren’t you seeing _your_ family for Christmas?’ Johnny asked, reaching around for conversation.

   ‘Nah. They don’t really celebrate it, so I’m not paying for a flight home.’

   ‘Thailand?’ said Johnny, having called the accent already.

   ‘Born and raised. I’m spending this year with my roomies, which is why _you’re_ invited, so I don’t have to third-wheel.’

   ‘Ah,’ Johnny laughed. ‘Right. Well I’m glad I can be of service.’

   ‘I’m glad you can too,’ Ten said lightly.

   ‘So I’m spending Christmas with _three_ strangers?’

   Ten looked deeply affronted. ‘ _Strangers_? You and I aren’t strangers, Johnny. We know each other’s names and everything.’

   ‘So we’re friends now?’

   ‘Absolutely. And my roomies’ names are Taeyong and Jaehyun. There you go, now you’re spending Christmas with _no_ strangers.’

   ‘Um… Ten? Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little unusual?’

   Ten gave him a radiant smile. ‘Thank you.’

*

   The apartment in which Johnny’s new favourite stranger-not-stranger was living was not too far from the airport, not as many stops down the line as Johnny would have had to have taken to get back into the city.

   The building was slightly ramshackle, the exterior surface peeling, and Ten took him all the way to the floor second from the top. He pushed the door straight open – it hadn’t been locked, and peered around.

   ‘Tyongie?’ he called out.

   Johnny stared. He’d done a lot of staring, today.

   They’d stepped into the light, because evening had fallen outside. Johnny really had spent his whole day, the _whole_ of Christmas Eve, in an airport.

   The lighting in Ten’s apartment was low, slightly orange, but it showed enough to pique Johnny’s curiosity.

   There was a narrow hall, lined by the door with a _lot_ of shoes. Everything was neatly arranged, though, from the coats hung on the hooks to the small tables topped with strange ornaments that Johnny had to negotiate his way around.

   ‘Shoes there,’ Ten nodded. ‘Taeyong is very house-proud. He’s also an artist,’ he added, when he caught Johnny looking at another one of the oddly shaped sculptures.

   They made more sense, once Johnny looked at them as _art_ and stopped trying to figure out what exactly they were supposed to be. They were quite… abstract.

   ‘Ten? Ten who are you talking to?’ A head poked around a doorframe at the end of the hall.

   ‘This is Johnny Seo,’ Ten said proudly. ‘He’s going to be joining us for Christmas!’

   The boy who Johnny assumed must be Taeyong stepped out from the doorway. He was a little awkward, a little nervous-looking, but he gave him a very genuine smile. His face was framed by a shock of pink hair.

   ‘Johnny. Just Johnny,’ said Johnny, because he wasn’t sure he could handle another person referring to him by his full name every time.

   ‘Lee Taeyong.’ Taeyong inclined his head, then his eyes flitted to Ten. ‘How was work?’

   That was it.

   He barely batted an eyelid at the fact that Ten had just brought a stranger into their home and announced that he’d be spending the holidays there. Perhaps Ten was prone to flights of fancy, and his friends were used to it. Or perhaps this had all been prearranged and they really were going to chop him up or something.

   Not that Johnny wouldn’t probably be able to overpower the two of them with one hand.

   They were hardly… threatening.  

   ‘Oh it sucked,’ Ten shrugged. ‘They cancelled all the flights out of Incheon. Everyone was in a _foul_ mood. I barely made enough to pay for coffee. And it’s _cold_. But I met Johnny so it wasn’t _all_ bad.’

   ‘You two just met? You’re moving faster than ever, Tennie,’ Taeyong smiled.

   ‘Johnny can’t go home because his flight got cancelled,’ Ten pouted. ‘I figured I could cheer him up. You’re cheered up, right, Johnny?’

   Johnny laughed, still in disbelief. ‘Yeah, yeah I’m getting there.’

   ‘See, we do things a little differently in this house. If someone’s cool, they’re in. We don’t fuck around with formalities. And I knew you were cool from the moment I saw you.’

   ‘Er… thanks?’

   ‘This apartment is technically Jaehyun’s,’ Ten explained as he walked him into the living room. ‘Taeyong is his boyfriend. And _I_ met Taeyong at college. I travel around a lot but I wanted to come back to Seoul for a while and they said I could crash here.’

   ‘You go to college?’

   ‘Not anymore,’ said Ten, ‘I dropped out. I don’t think structured education was for me.’

   That… did _not_ come as a surprise to Johnny.  

   ‘You have a very nice apartment,’ Johnny said to Taeyong, remembering that Ten had said he was house-proud, and reminding himself that, however strangely invited, he _was_ actually a guest in their home.

   ‘Thank you. Jaehyun will be home soon,’ he said to Ten. ‘We’re going to go to that place down the road for dinner.’

   ‘Excellent, I’ll have Johnny all to myself,’ Ten beamed.

   What that meant, Johnny wasn’t sure, but he smiled.

*

   By midway through the evening, Johnny had decided once and for all that Ten definitely wasn’t a serial killer. In fact, by midway through the evening, Johnny felt that he knew Ten as well as one could possibly know someone that they’d first met only a few hours earlier.

   Ten was funny, sarcastic, confident. But he was also interesting, perceptive, and had a fascinating world-view that made Johnny want to ask his opinion on _everything_ , from philosophy to the best item on the Starbucks menu.

   ‘No no _no_!’ Ten yelled as he lost _another_ round in the game he was playing against Johnny.

   They were sat on the floor in the living room, backs against the couch.

   It wasn’t the most comfortable position for Johnny, whose legs were quite a lot longer than Ten’s, and he had to sit with them almost against his chest because the coffee table was between them and the TV. The couch, it turned out, also doubled as Ten’s _bedroom_. He said that he didn’t mind, that he’d spent most of his life couch-surfing since he’d left college. He liked it that way, apparently, living that way by choice, not by necessity. He liked not having to stay in one place too long, and living out of one duffel bag.

   Johnny couldn’t really imagine it. He’d never been that sort of guy. But Ten made the lifestyle sound strangely appealing.

   The thought of living without the rigid cycle that Johnny did now made him feel almost _jealous_.

   ‘Thank you, Ten,’ said Johnny, turning to his left.

   Ten raised his eyebrows and lowered his handset for a moment. ‘What for?’

   ‘For… _inviting_ me here. I mean it’s crazy, but… you’re great. Really great. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if it wasn’t for you picking me up but I’m pretty sure I’d be miserable.’

   Ten smiled. ‘I know I’m great. But you’re welcome.’

   Johnny stared at him.

   Ten really was great.

   Really great.

   Johnny leant in to kiss him, then stopped halfway, trying in vain to make it look like he’d reached for his drink instead, a cold beer in a tall glass probably carried home from a bar. Ten laughed, eyes crinkling. He looked lovely when he laughed.

   ‘Were you going to _kiss_ me, Johnny Seo?’

   ‘Er - no.’

   ‘Well you sort of were,’ grinned Ten.

   ‘I was not!’

   Ten turned to him again, and darted forwards to touch the quickest, softest kiss to his lips. ‘Saved you the trouble,’ he said as he sat back, starting a new game.

   Johnny exhaled, eyes trained back to the TV screen.

   Ten really was… unique.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/puffyong_)


	2. Chapter 2

   Johnny woke up on Christmas morning to a moment of confusion. For a few seconds, he had absolutely no recollection of where he was, and sat bolt upright, startled by the unfamiliar room. He was on the floor, on two couch cushions, nowhere near large enough to accommodate his height, wedged between a low, messy coffee table, and the disassembled couch. In the corner of the room, in a large bucket-like armchair, there was a curled-up form.

   _Ten_.

   Everything came back to him in one _wave_ and he stared, heart just a little faster than usual.

   Ten was sleeping, his hands knotted loosely in a threadbare blanket, looking quite peaceful. He had one of the most serene faces that Johnny had ever seen, like nothing in the world could bother him. Carefree. Untroubled. _Easy-going_. Johnny wanted to be more like him.

   He laid back down as quietly as he could, anxious not to disturb him, and fumbled around the carpet for his phone. He flitted through texts, a few from his friends and two from his parents, but he couldn’t find the energy to reply yet. For a few minutes, he wanted to be carefree like Ten.

   He dozed a while, but not for long because he was roused again by a weight flopping so quickly over his legs that he let out an _oof!_ of surprise. His eyes shot open, and he found them only a couple of inches from Ten’s as he leant over him. ‘Happy Christmas, Johnny Seo!’ Ten beamed, sitting back on Johnny’s thighs and drumming lightly on his chest. ‘Wake up!’

   ‘I’m awake, I’m awake!’ Johnny hastened. He couldn’t move, because Ten was practically straddling him. ‘Merry Christmas, Ten.’

   Finally, Ten climbed off him, skipping around the living room with unadulterated excitement. He switched on the lights on the small, spindly plastic tree propped by the fireplace, and then disappeared from the room as though it wasn’t Johnny’s attention he’d wanted at all.

   ‘ _Wake up_!’

   Johnny winced, aware that Taeyong and his boyfriend Jaehyun had just got the same wake-up call that he had.

   ‘Coffee?’ suggested Ten with a cheery smile when he stuck his head back around the door.

   ‘Yeah, sure,’ Johnny replied weakly.

   He stood up and stretched out, his whole body creaking in protest. He wasn’t built to sleep on couch cushions. Perhaps it was easier for Ten – he had distinctly less _leg_ to accommodate. He hobbled his way out to the bathroom, but encountered a bleary-eyed Jaehyun in the hallway.

   He’d met Ten’s other housemate the previous night – a charming if somewhat quiet guy – polite but not overly talkative. One of the first things that Johnny noticed about him was the way that Taeyong acted compared to how he’d been when he was alone. It was like with Jaehyun at his side he _changed_. Suddenly, he was more confident, less nervous looking, and he stood taller. They also looked at each other with such constant affection that Johnny understood why Ten hadn’t wanted to third-wheel.

   ‘I guess Ten’s pretty excited,’ Johnny laughed after they’d said good morning.

   Jaehyun yawned widely and glanced at the kitchen door. ‘He’s never been interested in Christmas before. Two days ago he kept saying he couldn’t wait for it to be over.’

   Johnny raised his eyebrows.

   ‘I – ah - ’ Jaehyun looked down. ‘I think he might be trying to impress you.’

   At that, Johnny blinked for a moment. He thought back to meeting Ten in the airport, and what he’d said about Christmas being _just a day_. Then he thought about what he’d said to Ten before they’d gone to sleep, maybe a couple too many beers in, about the Christmases he’d grown up with in the States. He liked his Christmas Day over the top, kitschy, the more indulgent the better.

   If Ten was excited _for him_ , if there was a part of him that was sad about Johnny losing his flight and losing his family Christmas, then that made Johnny’s heart feel… strange. Ten hadn’t struck him as the kind of guy to put on a happy face about something he wasn’t that interested in just for someone else’s benefit. But he’d done it for Johnny. Yes, there was something going on his heart, a kind of quiver.

   When he looked at himself in the mirror, he found that he looked a little worse for wear. Suddenly anxious about the impression he wanted to give Ten, he fixed up his hair as best he could. It wasn’t great. He didn’t usually do much with his hair. But it was going to have to do.

   ‘Coffee!’ Ten beamed for the second time that morning as he shoved a chipped cup into Johnny’s hand when he re-entered the living room.

   Jaehyun had just finished putting the couch back together and had proceeded to sit on the armchair where Ten had slept, because there were only three seats, and that left Ten free to tug Johnny onto the couch with him while Taeyong settled cross legged on the floor between Jaehyun’s knees.

   Ten was flicking through an old ipod in a search for what Johnny presumed was Christmas music.

   ‘We don’t usually make a big deal of Christmas,’ Taeyong said with a slightly guilty look. ‘I hope we’re not a complete disappointment, Johnny.’

   Johnny looked at him in surprise. Sure, the decorations were a little half-hearted, and they didn’t seem to know exactly what to do with a morning other than make coffee, but it was a thousand times better than sitting at home alone watching the weather forecast. ‘Not at all,’ he said quickly, ‘thanks so much for letting me stay here.’

   Once Ten got the music playing, so loud that Johnny grew worried for his eardrums, Jaehyun and Taeyong turned their attention back exclusively to each other, and Ten pulled his legs up on the couch and angled his whole body to Johnny to talk instead.

   ‘What’s your favourite Christmas movie?’ he asked.

   ‘I don’t know,’ Johnny said back, ‘Christmas movies have a tendency to be… kind of bad.’

   Ten frowned. ‘I want to make your Christmas good. What would you do back home?’

   Johnny thought hard. What _did_ they do on Christmas? ‘Well my grandparents show up in the morning, and we all swap presents. My mom is usually crazy busy because she does most of the cooking, but once it’s done we sit down for this huge lunch, we play music. Then everyone is in a food coma so we wait a while and watch whatever’s on TV, and then maybe we play a game of charades or something. In the evening I usually go through my things and pick out some stuff to donate to charity, because once you have new stuff you don’t need so much of the old stuff.’

   Ten was still furrowing his brow. ‘I don’t know how much of that we can do. Taeyongie will make us lunch. Oh and we can definitely play a game! We have loads of board games. But I don’t have a present for you.’

   ‘You don’t have to give me a present,’ Johnny laughed softly.

   ‘But I do. It’s Christmas. I’m going to find you something.’

   Johnny tried to protest again, but Ten just glared at him so he stopped.

   ‘Be right back,’ Ten said quickly, before vanishing from under Johnny’s nose. He only returned a few minutes later, looking very smug, and jumped back on the couch. ‘Miss me?’

   ‘Yeah, I did,’ Johnny said, and he was quite honest. He wanted to talk to Ten all the time, find out every detail of his mind.

   ‘Let’s do a game!’

   A _game_ came in the form of an extremely complex and convoluted board game, based on a video game series, during which Ten became frighteningly competitive. The rules were so intricate, and Ten appeared to know them so well, that Johnny spent most of the time nodding along and hoping for the best when he made his tactical-not-so-tactical moves. He did understand enough to call Ten a _traitor_ when he made some sort of alliance with Taeyong, but Ten made no apologies at all.

   Johnny couldn’t help but think that he could date Ten for a year and he’d still abandon him in a second for a victory in this game.

   _Dating Ten._ Did he want to date Ten?

   Johnny really had never met anyone quite like him. He couldn’t imagine what dating Ten would look like. Would Ten even want that? He sure as hell didn’t seem like someone who’d want to be tied down. Did _Johnny_ want that? He’d only met the guy yesterday, but he felt like he’d known him his whole life.

   And he was very attractive.

   ‘We should’ve got some liquor in,’ said Jaehyun, perhaps to try to make conversation about anything other than the game when Ten started cheering at a particularly successful manoeuvre. ‘For tonight.’

   ‘Here - ’ Johnny reached over to his suitcase, tucked down behind the couch, and freed the gift-wrapped box from the front pocket, placing it down on the table. ‘To thank you guys again for letting me stay.’

   ‘But it’s gift - ’ Taeyong started, but Ten was already untangling the gold ribbon.

   ‘I bought it for my dad,’ said Johnny, ‘but I can get another one at duty free tomorrow.’

   ‘You’re going tomorrow?’ Ten sounded disappointed, letting go of the box.  

   ‘Well I guess… the weather looks okay now so I reckon they’ll be getting up in the air again, so…’

   ‘Oh, oh yeah,’ Ten looked down. ‘Right.’

   ‘Thanks, Johnny,’ said Jaehyun to break the tension, taking the bottle from the box and examining it. The bottle was simple, but minimalist in the way that suggested cost, a tan label against a deep golden-brown bourbon. ‘This is _way_ better than anything we usually buy.’

   The game continued for so long that Johnny thought it might give him a headache, but he kept his smile up for Ten’s sake because he could see how much he was enjoying it. Part way through, Taeyong gave up completely and left again to go and make some food instead, ever the host, and it wasn’t too much longer before, to no one’s surprise at all, Ten celebrated a momentous victory.

   His smile was so pure, his excitement so genuine, that Johnny couldn’t help himself. When Ten had stopped celebrating raucously and Jaehyun had escaped to the kitchen, Johnny hooked an arm around his waist and turned him to face him.

   There was a momentary pause, because Johnny was still slightly too nervous to be the one to initiate anything more, but then Ten closed the distance between their faces and kissed him, both arms winding around his body.

   ‘Mm I like Christmas,’ Ten hummed when Johnny pulled him closer to his body. His fingers laced into his hair. Ten was rougher, pushing his chest so that he fell half back against the couch, and kissed him with fervency. His back arched, until he was practically grinding against Johnny, and he nipped at his lower lip, tongue pressing for entry.

   Johnny let him do what he wanted with the kiss, only nudging him back for a moment because he felt breathless, but in a second Ten was back to kissing him, fingers knotted in the front of Johnny’s shirt. There was so much heat between them that winter could have been a long time ago.

   Just when Johnny thought he was going to have to stop him because they were in the middle of the living room in broad daylight, Ten sat back like he could read his mind.

   He looked remarkably composed, lips maybe a little red, with his hair mostly in place and a radiant smile lighting up his features.

   ‘You’re a good kisser, Johnny Seo.’

   Johnny was so far out of breath that he had to take a moment. ‘I… think you did most of the work.’ He ran a hand through his own hair, finding it knotty and mussed up. He knew he probably looked distinctly more ruffled than Ten.

   Ten made an elongated sound of consideration, then nodded. ‘Yeah, I probably did. But still. You’re not bad.’

   ‘Thanks,’ Johnny said with a small laugh.

   Ten sat back in his own spot, although he did lean over just for a second to sort out the front of Johnny’s hair. ‘So… we did the game. What else? You said you put on whatever was on the TV.’ Ten grabbed the remote and switched on the set, then passed the remote to Johnny and sat up on his knees. ‘You have to pick a channel. But _no_ peeking.’

   ‘No peek- ’ Johnny started but Ten swung behind him and covered his eyes.

   ‘Pick one.’

   Johnny fumbled the buttons and pressed the first that he got a proper grip on. Ten didn’t uncover his eyes until he’d angled around to press another quick kiss to his cheek.

   ‘Oh good choice,’ he said once he pulled away.

   There was a music show on, all groups that Johnny recognised.

   ‘Do you watch many shows like this?’ asked Ten. He flopped sideways and rested his temple against Johnny’s shoulder.

   ‘Sometimes,’ Johnny shrugged. ‘I keep up with music on the radio show anyway so I don’t watch it so much.’

   ‘I keep forgetting you’re on the radio. Do people call in? Oh my God can I call in?’

   ‘People call to request songs,’ Johnny nodded. ‘What song would you request?’

   Ten glanced at the TV as though for inspiration, features knotted in thought. ‘I’ll let you know. When I call in.’

   ‘Looking forward to it.’

   ‘Did you always want to be a DJ?’

   Johnny laughed at that. ‘Not really. My friend got me roped into the college radio station to help him out and then I accidentally ended up with this job after I graduated and I sort of worked my way up a bit and I just… I fell into it, I suppose. It wasn’t something I really wanted to do.’

   ‘What do you want to do?’

   ‘I wanted to be a photographer. That was what I was into then.’

   ‘Stop talking in the past tense, Johnny,’ Ten rolled his eyes.

   ‘It’s too late now.’

   ‘Oh come on, you’re acting like you’re on your deathbed. You can do anything you want, Johnny. If you want to be a photographer, go be a photographer. Life’s too short. Remember what I said? You regret the things you _don’t_ do.’

   Johnny sighed and looked down at his hands. ‘My job’s really good, Ten. It’s stable and it pays well and I really don’t think photography is gonna make me a lot of money and - ’

   ‘You know what else doesn’t make a lot of money? Dancing on the street,’ said Ten. ‘And I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Wouldn’t change it for the world.’

   Johnny chewed his lip.

   ‘And besides, I think you can make a bit doing photography. You can photograph _me_ all you want.’

   Johnny laughed and reached to his case again. ‘Can I?’ he asked as he took out his camera.

   Ten beamed and threw his arms around him, pressing their faces close together as Johnny turned the camera to take a picture.

   When he was done, he rested the camera down in his lap, glad that he’d have at least one piece of tangible proof of his day with Ten. He already knew that by the time he was out of this apartment he’d probably think it was all a fever dream. Ten was too special, someone he’d make up in his head, a fantasy. But now, on his memory card, Ten was real.

   ‘Promise me, Johnny, that after today you’ll start spending more time on this?’ Ten whispered, touching his fingertips to the camera. ‘Please don’t get stuck forever in a job that’s just… a job. You should love what you do.’

   ‘We’ll see,’ said Johnny. He thought about all the little ideas that had lit up in his head ever since Ten had woken him up in the airport – the notions where he got to live out a life with less regime and more fun, a life more carefree.

   _Live a little_ , Ten had said.

   His thoughts were interrupted when Jaehyun and Taeyong brought in food.  

   If Johnny closed his eyes and just let himself live in the moment, he could almost convince himself that he’d made it home for Christmas after all. There was the chatter, loud over the television, and the good food, _great_ food, and the warmth in his heart that came from sharing a day with family.

   He really had found three strangers who made this day feel like home.

   When evening started to draw in, they opened the bottle of bourbon, and lifted their tumblers for a toast.

   ‘Okay, okay,’ said Ten. ‘You have to say what your _best_ day of this year has been!’

   Jaehyun frowned at his glass, then put his arm around Taeyong, kissing his temple. ‘The day TY had his first gallery exhibition.’

   Taeyong looked down shyly. ‘The day we went to the live art show by the Han River.’

   Jaehyun hummed his agreement at that one.

   Ten looked expectantly at Johnny. ‘So?’

   ‘I don’t know. I think… I think I’m concentrating on the future right now. No more past tense.’

   ‘Well I’ll toast to that,’ Ten grinned.

   ‘But what about you?’ Johnny asked, before they could clink glasses.

   ‘Today,’ he said automatically. ‘But yesterday it was yesterday. And the day before, it was the day before. I like to think of every day as the best day ever. It’s only getting better.’

   At that, they all took a drink, nodding approval.

   ‘And we _do_ have Johnny with us today, so this one’s going especially well.’

   ‘Thank you all so much,’ said Johnny, ‘thank you so much. You have no idea how much today has meant to me.’

   ‘You don’t have to thank us again,’ Ten laughed. ‘We’re just happy to have you here. Really happy. This has been the best Christmas _ever_. Mainly because I won the game but also because you’re here. Thank _you_.’

   ‘I’m so glad you found me in the airport, Ten.’

   ‘Wait here,’ said Ten as he too got to his feet, one hand on Johnny’s shoulder.

   Johnny wasn’t sure where else he would exactly have to wonder off to, but he nodded anyway. It was only a few seconds before Ten reappeared, a bundle in his arms.

   ‘For you!’ he announced, his momentary awkwardness replaced by energy again. ‘Sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it.’

   ‘ _Ten_!’ Johnny protested, but Ten just thrust the bundle into his arms.

   ‘Happy Christmas from me.’

   Johnny _unwrapped_ the bundle slowly, if it could really be called unwrapping. Ten seemed to have used some leftover parcel paper, but no tape, and no precise folding – he had apparently just rolled it around a bit and tried to twist the ends so that it stayed secured. He must have done it when he vanished earlier.

   Johnny lifted out the book that was nestled amongst the paper.

   ‘It’s my favourite!’ said Ten. ‘You can read it on the plane home.’

   The cover was frenetic, chaotic with colour, and extremely battered, as though Ten had taken it twice around the globe with him. There were, Johnny could figure out between the tears and the scratches, two dragons on the cover. ‘I can’t take your favourite book,’ he said, frowning to Ten.

   ‘Why not?’ Ten shrugged. ‘It’s just paper. You can give it back to me when you get back.’

   ‘I’m… I’m seeing you again when I get back?’ Johnny exhaled.

   ‘Well I do hope so.’

   ‘I guess this is the part where I ask you for your number?’ Johnny grinned, more than a little relieved. He’d been worried that the moment he left the apartment, he’d never hear from Ten again. He seemed like the sort of person who’d disappear like dust in the wind, appearing in his life only for a fleeting moment never to be seen again.

   ‘Perhaps this is the part where you give me _your_ number,’ counteracted Ten. ‘I’m not sure I should be giving out private information to _strangers_.’

   ‘I thought we weren’t strangers?’ Johnny laughed. ‘We know each other’s names and everything.’

*

   The morning after Christmas, Johnny woke up to a moment of confusion. At first, he couldn’t quite remember where he was, but then he felt a nudge next to him and turned to look at Ten.

   Ten hadn’t gone to his armchair for the second night, having fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of a conversation. Johnny had tucked him up with blankets and gone to move to the armchair himself instead, but Ten had grabbed at him and mumbled sleepily for him to lie next to him.

   So Johnny felt even more achy than he had the previous morning, squeezed not only on the couch cushions but on _half_ of them. But he certainly didn’t regret that. It had been nice, having Ten next to him.

   Johnny checked his phone, and saw that the airport had reopened. Excitement blended with relief which blended with a tinge of… was it? Disappointment?

   He swallowed that down.

   Or tried to.

   But somehow he wished that he could spend just one more day with Ten.

   And another.

   ‘It’s early,’ said Ten, and Johnny turned to him in surprise. He hadn’t realised that he was awake. ‘Do you… do you have to go now?’

   Johnny stared at him. His hair was messy at last, eyes still heavy with sleep. Johnny swallowed, then locked his phone and put it down. ‘Nah.’

   ‘But don’t you need to - ’ Ten began.

   ‘I… I think I’m gonna book a flight for tomorrow. Or maybe the day after.’

   ‘You are?’ said Ten, eyes wide, all trace of sleep gone.

   ‘Yeah, I mean the date doesn’t matter right?’ Johnny shrugged. ‘And er… I want to make every day better and better. I want to love every day. And… I’m quite enjoying this one so far.’

   Ten shifted sideways and rested his cheek on his chest as he yawned. ‘Me too. As far as mornings go, this is a good one.’

   Even as Ten rested against him, Johnny felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest.

   ‘What are we going to do today then?’

   ‘Maybe I can start that book you leant me,’ Johnny mused.  

   ‘ _Or_ maybe we can go on an adventure.’

   ‘That sounds good too.’

   Johnny pulled Ten close and closed his eyes, deciding that today would be a good day to sleep in.

   He was going to do more of that – the things that felt right.

   And living a little felt _good_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/puffyong_)


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